Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri weren’t always so friendly.
Back in 2008, when Mourinho was Inter Milan manager and Ranieri was Juventus’ coach, the current Manchester United insulted the Italian, saying:
“He is almost 70 years old. He has won a Super Cup and another small trophy and he is too old to change his mentality. He’s old and he hasn’t won anything.”
Ranieri was just 56 at the time.
The two appeared to have buried the hatchet, and Mourinho will know, more than almost anyone, what his colleague his experiencing at the moment.
Ranieri has been sacked by Leicester City, less than a year after winning the most improbable Premier League title in history, amid reports of unrest in the Foxes’ dressing room.
In December 2015, Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea less than a year after a winning the Premier League, amid reports of unrest in the dressing room.
Leicester’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea would prove to Mourinho’s last game with the London side.
Ranieri’s last game with Leicester was the 2-1 loss in the Champions League last-16 tie against Sevilla on Wednesday.
The Italian was dismissed on Thursday, and Mourinho paid tribute to him with an Instagram post.
He wasn't the only one https://t.co/2tibGNsItd
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) February 24, 2017
Mourinho went a step further in his press conference on Friday afternoon, ahead of the EFL Cup final against Southampton on Sunday.
The United manager wore Ranieri’s initials on his polo shirt, as a salute to the 65-year-old.
CR. Claudio Ranieri. Jose Mourinho in full support of the sacked Leicester manager. #mufc pic.twitter.com/eKu4f6Bg07
— Kristof Terreur (@kristofterreur) February 24, 2017
Jurgen Klopp was asked about the decision to sack Ranieri in his press conference ahead of Monday’s game against Leicester.
The Liverpool manager likened the decision to the surprise election of Donald Trump as President of the United States and the UK referendum vote to leave the European Union.
Klopp being wonderfully Klopp: "There have been a few strange decisions in 16/17: Brexit, Trump and Ranieri."
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 24, 2017
